


Told You

by annihilated_nights



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Romantic Fluff, Teen Crush, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:42:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28511370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annihilated_nights/pseuds/annihilated_nights
Summary: Jack tells the boys about a girl he likes, who might not even be a girl at all.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Comments: 4
Kudos: 83
Collections: THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH





	Told You

Fridays were always the best day of the week for Jack, though he'd never admit it aloud. The weekends were the only time Jack saw David nowadays, now that he was in school again.

"Heya' Jack!" Mush said, smiling wide as he came through the lodgehouse door. "What's got you in such a good mood?" 

"It's nothin' Mush, just the weather, that's all," Jack said, still grinning ear-to-ear as he briskly made his way up the stairs, the other boy pursuing close behind.

Mush rolled his eyes, "Uh-huh, the weather... remind me, since when have you cared about the weather Jacky?"

Jack didn't reply, hoping the conversations of the other newsies in the room would make Mush forget their topic of discussion, but of course, he didn't.

"Is it a girl?"

Jack felt his cheeks heat up as soon as the question was asked. "Nah, it's not a girl."

And just like that, the word spread like wildfire. "Jack's got himself a girl?" Blink asked, always the nosey one.

"No, I-" Jack started, but just then, Skittery came in the room, his hair disheveled as always, followed shortly by Race. "Who's got a girl?" He asked, standing beside Mush and adjusting his suspenders.

"Nobody-" Jack sighed, staring at the ceiling. Maybe, he thought, if he kept looking away, the situation would go away. But of course, it didn't.

"Jack's whipped. He came in smiling like an idiot just now," Mush said with a smirk, rubbing Blink's shoulder and letting his hand rest there for a few moments.

"Tell us about her, Jack!" Skittery insisted, making a gesture in the air.

"Yeah, come on, Jack!" Blink said.

Jack let out a sigh, "Alright, alright, keep your pants on. I'll tell you, alright?" The truth was Jack didn't have a girl at all. He wasn't even in a relationship. But David, he knew he liked him, he really liked David, so playing pretend for a bit seemed like the best thing to do.

All of the newsies fell silent then, their eyes wide, leaning in slightly as they waited for him to talk.

"Well, she's got blue eyes, beautiful blue eyes," Jack already felt himself getting lost in thought. Sometimes he'd get like that thinking about David; his heart rate would quicken, and he'd forget where he was. No girl had done that to him, and no boy for that matter. 

"What's she kiss like?" Jack wasn't sure who asked that; he barely heard it at all.

"I haven't kissed her," Jack said, rolling his eyes.

Jack had thought about what it would be like to kiss a boy- it probably was no different than kissing a girl. But when it came to the thought of kissing David, he didn't know what to expect. Something in him wanted that kiss to be better than any other kiss, warm and sweet; he wanted to hold him close and tell him how much he meant to him, feel his skin against his own. But he knew he could never have a moment like that, at least not with David. There was an infinite list of things that held them from that.

"Does she got a cute smile?" It was Mush who asked that. His head cocked as he spoke, watching Jack for an answer.

"Breathtaking," Jack replied, beaming at the floor, fidgeting with his hands. "She's got freckles too."

"Oh, Jack, she sounds like a dame, is she too good for you?" Skittery said with a sneer. 

Jack's expression fell, "I dunno really... God, she's smart. She sure knows a lot more than I do. She talks up a storm."

Blink looked at Mush briefly after that. He raised an eyebrow, and Blink smiled for a moment before turning back to Jack and attempting to hide it.

Jack noticed, but hardly, Race interrupted his thoughts before he could ponder it anymore. "Hey, kinda sounds like-"

Just then, the topic of conversation walked right in.

"David," Jack breathed, his attention completely pulled away from the conversation.

David smiled softly, "Hey, Jack." 

The other newsies fell silent, looking back and forth between David and Jack with wide eyes and raised brows. The room was almost too quiet; you could practically see the tension in the air- but Skittery decided to break the silence.

"So how was your day with the swells, David?" He spoke nonchalantly, his shoulders relaxed, and his eyes drooping; as if he hadn't noticed a thing.

"Oh, uh, it was alright. Not as fun as it is with you guys, though," David said. Jack was struggling to act casual as he spoke, but David had this new effect on him; plus, his hair was sticking out a bit at some angles- Jack pushed away the intrusive thought of fixing it. It wasn't like he cared much about how his own hair looked; why should he care about David's?

"Well, nothin's as fun as us," Mush said, crossing his arms with a slight smile.

A few minutes later, more newsboys began to pile in; Boots, Bumlets, Snoddy, Pie-eater, Specs, and the rest.

"So, how much did you sell today?" David asked, sitting on a lower bunk next to Jack. 

Jack noticed David's sleeves were rolled-up past his elbows- exposing more of his skin. David was thin, but he was very lean, Jack noticed, especially now; When his undershirt was the only barrier between the rest of his skin and Jack's eyes. Jack smiled slightly at the slight alter in his clothing; the boy wouldn't dream of rolling up his sleeves some time ago. "A little over a hundred," he shrugged like it was nothing which, clearly drove David mad, "Would've been less with you," he winked, and David rolled his eyes, though a smile still dominated his expression.

"We'll see about that tomorrow then," David said.

Jack took a moment, realizing David might take what he said literally, "You are a great seller, though, Dave. I think you could do twice as much if ya' wanted."

David scoffed, "Yeah, right. Up against the infamous Jack Kelly? I'm utterly doomed!" He clutched his chest for dramatization.

"Infamous! I'd say I'm famous," Jack said with a smirk.

"And what does that make me?" 

"My word of reason."

David smiled with narrowed eyes before letting out a breath and shaking his head in disbelief. "Couldn't survive without me, could you?"

Jack simpered, "How do you think we met?" He spoke a bit softer, so only David could hear. It was odd talking about the day they met. It seemed romantic when it shouldn't be- when it wasn't. It was funny, sure, maybe a bit stupid, but something about it made Jack immensely happy.

"I wanted nothing to do with you, you know," David said after a few moments.

"Is that so?"

"Well, after a while, I started thinking differently," David said, letting his shoulders rise and fall.

"What changed your mind?" 

"You were brave, and I just- saw you with the other guys and... I don't know- maybe I started feeling something else," David sighed, resting his elbows on his knees.

'Something else'... What did he start feeling? Jack ached to ask but he couldn't muster up enough courage to do so. Which was ironic considering David just said he was brave. Jack felt anything but brave, especially now.

-

"Blink, Mush, come over here," Race whispered, motioning for them to come into the other room. It mostly had cleaning supplies, towels, things like that. 

"What's the deal?" Blink asked, leaning against the wall with a bit of irritation in his voice.

"Is it just me, or does this 'girl' Jack went on about seem kinda familiar?" Race asked, looking over his shoulder briefly to confirm no one was listening in on their conversation.

"You think it could be Sarah?" Mush asked, cocking his head innocently.

"Sarah has brown eyes, Mush," Race said.

"Oh, right."

"I see what you mean, god, you should'a seen him when David got here. He's smitten, I ain't never seen him look at any a' us like that," Blink said, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed.

"You really think he loves 'em, Race?" Mush asked.

"I dunno, he's somethin' else, it's hard to know what he's thinkin'," Race said with a shrug, "We just need to wait it out and see what he does."

-

"C'mon Dave, we're gonna have to share tonight," Jack said, sitting on the edge of his bed. 

David nodded, a soft look on his face as he climbed up next to Jack, his shoulder brushing against the cowboy's.

"Aw, c'mon, Jack! How come Dave gets to sleep wit' ya' and not us!" Boots said, throwing his arms in the air as if this was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard. 

Jack smiled at David, and the two giggled at the word choice before Jack looked back at Boots to reply. Before he could though, Race piped in, "Leave 'em be, ya' get your own bed, so why are you complainin'?"

"I'm just speaking for other folks," Boots shook his head before removing his cap and getting settled into bed.

"You don't share with anyone else?" David asked, a slight smirk on his expression. He nudged Jack's shoulder after he spoke.

"Nah, I'm savin' you. Ya' wouldn't want ta' bunk with Skittery, he talks in his sleep. And ya' wouldn't want to get stuck with Mush, he spreads out like a blanket." This was only partly true, but also, Jack had seen David fast asleep a couple of times, he passes out doing homework sometimes. It's sweet, he makes small huffing noises when he sleeps, it's not really noticeable unless you're close, and Jack had only been so near once, David had fallen asleep on his arm and Jack figured he had to stay then to prevent waking him up.

Soon the lights were out and David was lying at Jack's side, his chest rising and falling slowly. Jack felt his eyes begin to droop as he watched silently, though he knew David was still wide awake. He almost didn't feel himself drift off before he woke up again.

Jack rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, squinting trying to figure out the time. It was still pitch black outside, had to be fairly early in the morning. Normally some of the other boys were up at this time, those that had trouble sleeping or the younger ones who had nightmares every so often. Nonetheless, Jack sat up and crept out of bed, making his way towards the window on the other side of the room.

Jack finally made it outside, luckily without a sound or anyone following him, at least that's what he thought.

"Hey."

Jack snapped around to see David, his blue eyes droopy and his hair even messier than before.

"Hey Davey," Jack said, smiling weakly.

"You snore, you know," David smiled wider, standing beside Jack.

"Sorry," Jack laughed, normally this would embarrass him more, but he wasn't fully conscious now and that was the least of his concerns.

"I don't mind."

Jack let his arm hang around David's shoulders, and it seemed David didn't mind that much either.

"Ya' know, I was tellin' the other guys about a girl earlier today," Jack said, he immediately felt David stiffen under his arm. 

"She looks an awful lot like you."

David's gaze snapped to Jack's and his shoulders relaxed again. "Oh?"

"Yeah, oh," Jack said.

"Is she pretty?" David asked, a bit quieter now.

"Beautiful."

David smiled slightly, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"And... And have you kissed her yet?" David asked, eyes still locked to Jack's.

"Nah, she'd never kiss me."

"I think you'd be surprised."

"I'm just... scared I guess. God, she's smart, she's way too good for me," Jack sighed, looking out to the street. He had no clue why he was admitting this to David, maybe something in him wanted to.

"Maybe she thinks the same thing about you," David said with a shrug.

"You think so?" Jack tried not to sound too excited as he looked back at David, who was smiling softly.

"Sure..." He paused for a moment, "You know, it's not all that hard to love you, Jack Kelly."

Jack laughed, he could probably think of a hundred people that would object, "Yeah, well some might disagree with that one."

"I wouldn't," David said, his eyes locking with Jack's once again.

Jack's heart thudded quickly in his chest, he could see David so much clearer now, the streetlamps' glow highlighting his features. Jack felt so vulnerable in that moment, so young and full of emotions, but he knew David probably felt the same way as he looked back, as he was the slightest bit younger, and Jack was different from the boys at David's school or even the other newsies.

They were inches from each other, eyes still held in a tempting gaze that neither could break out of. Jack leaned in, slowly, his eyes fluttered shut as his lips gently brushed David's. 

David's breath hitched, he hesitated, eyes still open until he let his lips connect with Jack's again, more certain this time, his hand found its way to Jack's cheek as the latter pulled him closer, his arm gently holding his waist. David let his mouth part, allowing Jack to deepen the kiss, wordlessly acknowledging how much he valued the shared intimacy. 

Somewhere in the back of Jack's mind, there was a concern for getting found out, but as he kissed his friend, his emotions felt like they were finally pouring out, he finally became submerged in an immense euphoria as he held the boy near, a warm, soft feeling, the one he'd only dreamed about, only yearned for. So suddenly, that vague worry didn't matter anymore. Those laws, claims, opinions even, about the forbidden closeness Jack was experiencing in this very moment, seemed so stale and bleak now, like none of it mattered. It was hard to be so scared when David seemed so true to be with; When Jack realized he was the only one that made him feel this way.

Jack smiled against David's lips, melting further into the kiss, and letting his body press against his own. His heart fluttered in his chest as David gripped the collar of Jack's shirt, hastily returning the kiss.  
David pulled out of it, only for a moment, gasping for breath, before kissing Jack again, just briefly, as if to make sure he was really there.

Jack smiled once he pulled back again, his forehead pressed gently to David's, who's chest was rising and falling more than usual. "Guess she would kiss me, then."

David laughed, "Told you."


End file.
